The present invention relates to the building trade and in particular to a particular type of bracing for beams used as lintels, purlins, bearers and other such applications.
Traditionally beams such as lintels or bearers have been cut from a single piece of timber or formed from relatively heavy steel into I, J or C sections.
Alternatively where framing is required over a window or the like in a dwelling a top and bottom plate are formed from timber with small upright studs. All of the last-mentioned methods of forming a beam have disadvantages. For example solid timber is now quite expensive and is still subject to twisting and warping in addition to being quite heavy such as to preclude large beams being handled readily by one or two men.
Metal beams are even heavier to the extent that they can often not be "hand set" and require the use of expensive machinery. The fabrication of a frame is additionally not entirely satisfactory since it is difficult to brace according to traditional methods and is time consuming to fabricate on site.